Transcarotid artery revascularization versus carotid endarterectomy and transfemoral stenting in octogenarians

Transfemoral carotid artery stenting (TFCAS) has higher combined stroke and death rates in elderly patients with carotid artery stenosis compared with carotid endarterectomy (CEA). However, transcarotid artery revascularization (TCAR) may have similar outcomes to CEA. This study compared outcomes after TCARs relative to those after CEAs and TFCAS, focusing on elderly patients.

We included all patients with carotid artery stenosis and no prior endarterectomy or stenting who underwent either a CEA, TFCAS, or TCAR in the Vascular Quality Initiative from September 2016 (TCAR commercially available) to December 2019. We categorized patients into age decades: 60 to 69 years, 70 to 79 years, and 80 to 90 years. Outcomes included 30-day and 1-year composite rates of stroke or death. Cox proportional hazards models evaluated both outcomes after adjusting for patient demographics, clinical factors, symptomatology, hospital CEA volume, and clustering.

We identified 33,115 patients who underwent either a CEA, TFCAS, or TCAR for carotid artery stenosis (35% in their 60s, 44% in their 70s, and 21% in their 80s), where one-half (50%) were symptomatic. The majority of patients had CEAs (80%), followed by TFCAS (11%) and TCARs (9.1%). The overall rate of 30-day stroke/death was 1.5% and of 1-year stroke/death was 4.4%. Octogenarians had the highest 30-day and 1-year stroke/death rates relative to their peers (2.3% and 6.3%, respectively). Among all patients, the adjusted hazards of TCARs relative to CEAs was similar for 30-day stroke/death (hazard ratio [HR] 1.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.75-1.62) and slightly higher for 1-year stroke/death (HR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.02-1.76). Among octogenarians, however, the adjusted hazards of TCARs relative to CEAs was similar for both 30-day stroke/death (HR, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.59-2.13) and 1-year stroke/death (HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 0.85-1.94). TFCAS relative to CEAs had higher hazards of both 30-day stroke/death (HR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.10-2.89) and 1-year stroke/death (HR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.35-2.54) in octogenarians.

TCARs had similar outcomes relative to CEAs among octogenarians with respect to 30-day and 1-year rates of stroke/death. TCAR may serve as a promising less invasive treatment for carotid disease in older patients who are deemed high anatomic, surgical, or clinical risk for CEAs.